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Abba-esque
''Abba-esque'' is an extended play (EP) by British synth-pop duo Erasure. Released on 1 June 1992, the EP was Erasure's first and only number one on the UK Singles Chart and also became a number-one hit in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, and Sweden. As big fans of the Swedish group ABBA, Erasure (Vince Clarke and Andy Bell) had often performed ABBA songs in concert over the years. They had originally planned to release an album of ABBA covers but instead opted to release an EP of four of ABBA's best known hits. Background Mute Records released ''Abba-esque'' in the UK, while Elektra Records released it in the US. Music videos were produced for all four tracks, and issued as a video EP on VHS. A remix EP was also released by Mute Records in the UK which featured the same four songs in heavily reworked form. Shortly after the release, ABBA's '' Gold: Greatest Hits'' album was released, sparking a revival of ABBA's music that has endured well into the 21st centu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Take A Chance On Me
"Take a Chance on Me" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in January 1978 as the second single from their fifth studio album, '' ABBA: The Album'' (1977). Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad share the lead vocals on the verses and choruses, with Fältskog singing two bridge sections solo. It reached the top ten in both the UK and US. The song was notably covered by the British band Erasure. Background and release The working title of "Take a Chance on Me" was "Billy Boy". (An excerpt of “Billy Boy” was released on the 1994 box set Thank You for the Music, as part of the track ABBA Undeleted, which consisted of demos, early and alternate versions of completed songs, and unfinished songs.) Written and recorded in 1977 by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, the song was one of ABBA's first singles in which their manager Stig Anderson did not assist with writing the lyrics, confirming Andersson and Ulvaeus as a songwriting partnership. The song's origins sprang f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erasure
Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a member of synth-pop duo Yazoo. From their fourth single, " Sometimes" (1986), Erasure established themselves on the UK Singles Chart, becoming one of the most successful acts of the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. From 1986 to 2007, the pair achieved 24 consecutive top-40 entries in the UK singles chart. By 2009, 34 of their 37 chart-eligible singles and EPs had made the UK top 40, including 17 climbing into the top 10. At the 1989 Brit Awards, Erasure won the Brit Award for Best British Group. Beyond this mainstream commercial success, Erasure are also popular within the LGBT community, for whom the openly gay singer Andy Bell has become an icon in the UK. Overview Erasure made their debut with the studio album ''Wonderland'' in 1986, however ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pop! The First 20 Hits
''Pop! The First 20 Hits'' is a greatest hits collection from Erasure, released on 16 November 1992 in Germany and the UK and 24 November 1992 in the United States. The album utilises a straightforward format: all of Erasure's singles up to that point, sequenced in chronological order with the addition of the Hamburg Mix of Erasure's first ever single, "Who Needs Love (Like That)". In the UK, "Who Needs Love Like That" was released as a single in remixed form ("The Hamburg Mix", a reference to Erasure's extensive touring of Hamburg during the band's formative period). This is included as a bonus track on the UK version of the album, although in the US it only appears on the cassette release, failing to appear on the CD. ''Pop! The First 20 Hits'' became Erasure's fourth consecutive number-one album in the UK. In Germany the album hit number 12 and in the US it peaked at number 112 on the ''Billboard'' 200, where it was certified Gold nearly 10 years later by the RIAA. ''Pop! ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names arranged as a palindrome. One of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, they became one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1982, and in 2022. In Eurovision Song Contest 1974, 1974, ABBA were Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, Sweden's first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Waterloo (ABBA song), Waterloo," which in 2005 was chosen as the best song in the competition's history as part of the Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, 50th anniversary celebration of the contest. During the band's main active years, it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Answer Record
An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer songs were also extremely popular in country music in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, sometimes as female responses to an original hit by a male artist or male responses to a hit by a female artist. The original " Hound Dog" song sung by Big Mama Thornton reached number 1 in 1953, and there were six answer songs in response; the most successful of these was "Bear Cat", by Rufus Thomas which reached number 3. That led to a successful copyright lawsuit for $35,000, which is said to have led Sam Phillips of Sun Records to sell Elvis Presley's recording contract to RCA. In ''Rock Eras: Interpretations of Music and Society'', Jim Curtis says that "the series of answer songs which were hits in 1960... indicates the dissociation of the singer from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Björn Again
Björn Again is a parody of the 1970s Swedish pop group ABBA. Created in 1988 in Australia,The show currently involves performers based in several countries. The Björn Again name is based in part on ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus with the obvious revivalist association to " born again". Björn Again has performed approximately 5,500 shows in 72 countries in 34 years. Character of the show Björn Again is a light-hearted parody of ABBA, using pidgin Swedish (or ' Swenglish') originally using stage names Agnetha Falstart, Benny Anderwear, Frida Longstokin and Björn Volvo-us referencing original ABBA members including bassist Rutger Sonofagunn and drummer Ola Drumkitt based on Rutger Gunnarsson and Ola Brunkert). Björn Again is a slightly satirical, rocked up and choreographed act with costumes and song arrangements sometimes quite different from ABBA affording Björn Again the luxury of being considered as a unique show in its own right. History Björn Again was created in October ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MC Kinky
Caron Liza Geary (born 15 October 1963 in Paddington, London), known by various stage names, is an English female raggamuffin toaster. She was the first white female reggae/dancehall MC. According to Geary, her first recorded appearance was on a cover of "Kid Ralph", a dancehall track by Little Twitch. The song talks about a "legendary" homosexual figure in Jamaica's prison system. She has subsequently worked as a solo artist and with other musicians, including Erasure and Boy George, who described her music as "the dirtiest 'slackest' reggae I'd heard since the seventies". Background Growing up in Marylebone, Geary lived adjacent to an after-hours party which blasted out reggae music; as a result, Geary was exposed to reggae from a very young age. It is these experiences which inspired her to write the controversial song " Everything Starts with an 'E'" as part of E-Zee Possee, which was banned by the BBC because of its lyrics and made No. 69 in the UK Singles Chart in 1989, l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SOS (ABBA Song)
"SOS" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in June 1975 as the fifth single from their self-titled 1975 album. It was released with "Man in the Middle" as the B-side. Agnetha Fältskog, who sang lead, recorded the song in Swedish on her 1975 solo album ''Elva kvinnor i ett hus''. "SOS" was ABBA's first major worldwide hit since " Waterloo". History "SOS" (working title; "Turn Me On") was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson and was recorded at Glen Studio in Långängen, Sweden on 22–23 August 1974. The title itself was coined by Stig, though the lyrics he provided were re-written by Ulvaeus. "SOS" was among the first of three songs recorded for the group's 1975 album, ''ABBA'' and the opening track of their classic Greatest Hits LP released at the end of the same year. The song opens with a piano intro, followed by the first verse sung by Fältskog. Biographer Carl Magnus Palm described it as 'Agnetha's first 'heartbreak classic, wher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Who Needs Love Like That
"Who Needs Love Like That" is the debut single of British synthpop duo Erasure. The song was released in the UK on Mute Records in 1985 as a prelude to their debut album, '' Wonderland'' (1986). The accompanying music video was directed by John Scarlett Davies and produced by Nick Verden for Aldabra. While the original 1985 release enjoyed only minor success, the later "Hamburg Mix" version (issued in 1992 to promote the ''Pop!'' compilation) reached the top 10 in both the UK and Ireland. History "Who Needs Love Like That" is an uptempo pop song written by Vince Clarke. The lyrics are a cast-off to a destructive love relationship, in which the protagonist asks "who needs love like that?" The music video takes place in a mock Western, with Clarke, Andy Bell and various extras dressed as cowboys. Both Bell and Clarke appear in dual roles, the others being woman's drags. Upon its release, the song spent two weeks in the UK singles chart, peaking at number 55. In 1992, the song wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Often, a recording act will be remembered by its " number ones", those of their albums that outperformed all others during at least one week. The chart grew from a weekly top 10 list in 1956 to become a top 200 list in May 1967, and acquired its current name in March 1992. Its previous names include the ''Billboard'' Top LPs (1961–1972), ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape (1972–1984), ''Billboard'' Top 200 Albums (1984–1985) and ''Billboard'' Top Pop Albums (1985–1992). The chart is based mostly on sales – both at retail and digital – of albums in the United States. The weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015, tracking week begins on Friday (to coinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, a member of the musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma Mia!'' He co-produced the films '' Mamma Mia!'' and ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'' with fellow ABBA member and close friend Benny Andersson. He is the oldest member of the group. Early life Björn Kristian Ulvaeus was born in Gothenburg on 25 April 1945. In 1951, he moved with his family to Västervik, Kalmar County. His parents were Aina Eliza Viktoria (née Bengtsson; 1909–2005) and Erik Gunnar Ulvaeus (1912–1999). Ulvaeus has one sister, Eva Margareta (born 1948). Ulvaeus studied business and law at Lund University after undertaking his military service, alongside comedian Magnus Holmström. Career Pre-ABBA Before gaining international recognition with ABBA, Ulvaeus was a member of the Swedish folk- schlager band Hootenanny Singers, known earlier as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma Mia!'' For the 2008 film version of ''Mamma Mia!'' and its 2018 sequel, ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'', he worked also as an executive producer. Since 2001, he has been active with his own band Benny Anderssons orkester. Early life Göran Bror Benny Andersson was born 16 December 1946 in the Vasastan district of Stockholm to civil engineer Gösta Andersson (1912–1973) and his wife Laila (1920–1971). His sister Eva-Lis Andersson followed in 1948. Andersson's musical background comes from his father and grandfather (Efraim); they both enjoyed playing the accordion, and at six, Benny got his own. His father and grandfather taught him Swedish folk music, traditional music, and schlager. The first records Benny bought were "Du Bist Musi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
